Thursday, August 15, 2013

Once known for its pristine beaches, Untung Jawa Island, just an hour ride from Jakarta, is now known as ‘trash island’ with hundreds of tons of plastic, styrofoam, and the occasional dead body washing ashore, according to The Asia Sentinel.
Indonesia is a paradise for surfers that travel to remote islands to surf perfect waves but the idilic scenario you’d expect is ruined here with the repulsive debris floating around like the native fauna.

Hawaiian based surf photographer Zak Noyle captured in stunning shots of how the ocean swell brought massive surges of trash when he was shooting Indonesian surfer Dede Surinaya in a remote bay near Java.

Bede Durbide, all style in the tube.

Photo: Noyle

Tourism is the country’s fifth-largest foreign currency earner and in danger of being ruined by the polluted ‘Wonderful Indonesia’ image.
This was a dangerous shoot because there were large objects in the water, including tree trunks, Noyle said to Surfer Magazine.
“But it was worthwhile because of the international response generated by the images.”